The Mark
by whor3able
Summary: "Well, I thought you would be taller so I guess we're all disappointed." She snapped, noticing his assistant Pepper Pott's look at her with awe, the same look being given by the billionaire. Tony Stark never thought he would find his soulmate, but he did, at a college graduation at that. One Shot. Soulmate fic.


A cute soulmate one shot that if pursuaded could turn into a full story, lmk ;)

* * *

Hey, it's me.

I told myself at 17 that I was going to stop this journaling thing but here I find myself, six years later, using this useless coping mechanism. Why did I go out and buy an overpriced journal at barnes and noble? Well, I don't know, the cute leather bound journal enticed me and I just _had_ to buy it, I couldn't help it, my hands were tied.

After spending a laughable amount of time on the world web I finally came to a record breaking development, I was scared. Preposterous! I know, who would've thought that _the _Blakely Monroe was scared to go off to the real world and live the hell that's a 9-5 job.

I realized that I have this _amazing _ability to push all the current bad shit in the back of my mind and ignore it until I couldn't anymore. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to breach this topic _until _graduation but I suddenly blinked and now I was graduating, _today_.

Not to be dramatic or anything but dying sounded so much better than getting up on that stage and delivering my marvelous valedictorian speech that I made up in a whim drunkenly last night. Drunk me tends to forget that I'm actually not a robot and that I actually feel things, compared to sober me who is very cool, calm, and very _saucy, _but still collected!

I am seriously considering pregaming my graduation at _Al's_, but I wasn't completely sold on _if_ the idea was a smart move. After a good two minutes of seriously considering the idea I decided that I _deserved _this beer! I graduated top of my class for crying out loud, I survived and I conquered. I deserved this gift!

Alright, gotta fly little journal, I might pick this habit back up because I enjoy these short moments in which I can just...talk about myself!

_b.m. 2013._

* * *

After Blakely's fourth beer and second shot of tequila, she seriously began to consider if this was a good decision.

"_Another round on me for the graduation lady!"_

But once she was handed another free shot, rationality flew out the door like she did fifteen minutes later when she realized that if she didn't leave now, she was going to be terribly late and miss her time slot for her speech.

_After all the drunken tears I shed, the people deserved to hear my inspiring words_, Blakely thought to herself in determination.

"_Blakely_, what the fuck?!" Sharon snapped, giving said girl her best glare.

Blakely caught her reflection on her little facetime camera and couldn't stop the giggles that left her body. She was eating a croissant lathered in butter as she patiently sat in her uber, three minutes away from the school. Her face makeup was untouchable but that's what happens when you set your face properly, sadly her lip gloss and hair didn't stand a chance against _life. _

"Stop yelling, I can already _feel _your disapproval, actually, I think I'm drowning in it as we speak." Blakely threw in, placing her phone on her lap as she gathered her thick brown locks and began to french braid her hair instead. She left the house with pin-straight hair but humidity usually destroys all her hard work in a matter of an hour. Blakely imitated choking noises, smiling as she noticed the blonde roll her eyes at her antics.

"Look, I had a couple drinks–" Sharon cut her off before she could even begin to use her favorite lie.

"A _couple _drinks is 1 or 2 drinks, not five beers and multiple shots." Tying her braid up, she picked her phone back up from her lap and used her facetime camera to inspect her work.

"How does it look?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows and clearly ignoring her friends last statement.

Her dark brunette hair which was covered in honey colored highlights was braided up in a french braid, a couple of strands framed her face and her braid reached her lower back. Wiping off the excess lip gloss that wasn't on her lips, she pulled out a less messier option which was her matte ruby woo lipstick. Blakely blew a kiss in her friends direction which caused her to break her harsh glare into a softer look.

"You look great," She complimented genuinely, before snapping back to her infamous mom-complex. "for someone that couldn't pass a sobriety test to save her life right now!" She narrowed her sharp eyes in her direction and once again Blakely was public enemy number 1!

The brunette pouted slightly. "Someone has to break the rules! Rules are meant to be broken baby!" She said enthusiastically. "This is a day worth celebrating, darlin! And who else am I supposed to get drunk with when literally nobody is showing up to my graduation!" The second part was said just as enthusiastically but the comment slapped the glare right off Sharon's face.

"-Blake, you know I would be there if I could." She commented sadly, a frown disturbing her pretty face. "I couldn't get out of my internship–" She started off, using the same excuse that Blake knew deep inside was a lie.

Not to toot her own horn but "_toot, toot_", she was really going at pinpointing lies ever since she was a child. It's like she had a sixth sense for that shit.

The valedictorian shrugged carelessly. "Yeah well, I'm guessing a lot of people would be here too if they could." She said cooly before looking down at her wrist at her non-existent watch. "Darn! Look at the time, gotta go!" And before she could hear any of Sharon's protests, she hung up.

Blakely would rather ignore the heavy disappointment weighing her down then deal with it, but thats how she's always been. The better of the Blake's, as the girl liked to say – was on her way to her graduation commencement at Stanford University, she was declared Valedictorian after practically selling her soul to adderall and coke and ending her memorable college career being top of her graduation class, four drunk misdemeanors, nine fights, two minors, and a Masters degree.

Not to suck her own dick or anything but she was pretty resilient to inner trauma and outer trauma. She was practically invincible at this rate, like an ant surviving a bombing.

"Ma'am, we're here." her uber driver announced.

Grabbing her purse, she quickly bid her uber farewell as she ran out the car, she was already pushing her time and apparently as valedictorian, she was getting the chance of meeting this year's commencement speaker, it was a surprise to the school and to her so she was rather curious. Strutting in her incredibly high heels was not the worse thing she's even done done, actually, doing this was second nature to her, _especially_ while being intoxicated.

The thought alone made her smirk slightly before quickly finding the reserved room. She politely knocked before walking in, a sheepish grin on her face. The dean gave her an exasperated look but there was a almost fond smile on his face as he regarding the young woman who always showed up at his office once something that was wrong in her eyes was happening. A majority of the issues she brought to the table were situations that deserved a resolution, this caused a strange relationship to bloom between the two.

The young sarcastic girl managed to wedge herself into his cold heart, _slightly_. This was an occurrence that seemed to happen very often when it came to Blakely Monroe, she claimed it was because she was so darn cute, but Sharon said it was because of her need to always want what is right. Sharon calls her lady justice, but Blakely decided she would use that name whenever she decides to be a stripper.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Dean Beyer said playfully.

"Correction, it was an uber." She corrected, a grin on her face.

He rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. So funny." He wasn't laughing.

She pouted before _especially _smiling at her history professor, Dr. Leighton, and the rest of the faculty that was there. She noticed nobody out of the ordinary and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Where's our guest? Or is he here and I can't see him?" Before the dean or anyone for the matter, could respond, she fired out more questions. "Who's our guest? Casper the friendly ghost? I honestly wouldn't be surprised–"

"He's running late." Dr. Leighton cut in, used to his favorite students rambling.

"Who? Casper?!" She inquired, eyes widened in excitement, a grin on her face.

"Stark!" The dean snapped out, glaring at the girl who suddenly broke into a smug smile once the horror registered within him for telling her the secret.

"HA! An Avenger? Wow I feel blessed almost. " She sighed almost dreamily, the room erupted into soft laughter. "We love a man who risks his life for the world. " She threw in innocently. The dean rolled his eyes at her.

Before he could say anything, the door slammed opened and a redhead holding a tablet stepped in first, followed by a man wearing glasses indoor walked in, seemingly talking to himself.

"JARVIS, make sure that Dum-E doesn't tear the place up, he's been going through a rebellious stage along with his brother!" The Billionaire chastised loudly to this JARVIS guy. "Back to the Valedictorian, What else is there? I want the gritty details though! Not this boring crap!" The red-head quickly turned around after flashing them an apologetic smile, and slapped his arm, catching his attention.

Blakely narrowed her eyes at him instantly. The asshole was reading her files like she was bibliography he could just pick up and read, and he wasn't even _hiding _his snooping. She could feel her left eyebrow twitch slightly, drunk her was very prone to fights because of her lack of filter, so before anything happens, she would like to blame it on the alcohol, Jamie Foxx style.

"Oh, hey, we got here so quick. I guess time flies when you're having fun." He quipped, his lips turned upward in a saucy grin. Blakely could feel her frown deepened even more.

As much as she wanted to ignore this physical aspect, she really couldn't. Tony Stark was just as handsome in person as he was on GQ magazine, for a man in his mid-forties he looked very dashing. Also, as much as she didn't want to admit it, Blakely had a thing for older men, blame it on her daddy issues but _fuck_, older men were just better. Like aged wine almost.

What she couldn't fathom was why Staford decided on Tony Stark, aka fucking IRONMAN. This was the same man that enjoyed the title of being a rich playboy that went out everyday with twelve models for brunch, but this was also the same man that carried that nuke out to space to save New York. She assumed that a situation like that would humbled him but if anything his ego seemed bigger?

Without her consent, her head tilted slightly as she studied the billionaire more. He was taller than her, but yet again, everyone in this room was taller than her 5'1 ass. His hair was neatly styles back, a couple of stray greys littering his luscious hair, but if anything it was another attribute that made him more appealing. He was dressed in a fitted black suit, but instead of a button up he wore an Black Sabbath t-shirt underneath, she could slightly see his Arc reactor glimmering through the fabric of his shirt.

Despite being a couple feet away she could smell the avenger's strong scent from here, it was like walking into a mechanic who wore Calvin Klein Cologne. The asshole smelled too good. Tony Stark felt the girls eyes on him and challenged her by making eye contact with her, knowing that a lot of people felt uncomfortable with eye contact. The feeling of someone staring at her brought her back to reality as she noticed Stark's eyes on her, his brown eyes intently on her as he studied her the same way she just did, a small smirk on his face.

Deep in thought she failed to notice the dean introducing Tony to her.

"–this is our valedictorian, Blakely Monroe, she's graduating a year early with a Masters in History, and two minors–"

Tony cut him off, his face twisted in displeasure as he looked her straight in the eye, almost challenging her. "_Ew, history is boring_." He remarked, causing Pepper to slap him upside the head for being rude.

She felt time slow as Tony Stark, the avenger, the billionaire, and the playboy, uttered the four words that she's had tattooed under her left breast since she was 15. The same words that belonged to her soulmate.

As children they were taught that having a Soulmate was a beautiful experience, and there were a lot of laws that protected mated pairs. Soul marks began to appear on people's body in the early 1900s, and till this day not everyone got a soulmark. It was considered a rarity and a blessing, to some. She was one of the lucky people to have not only one mark but a second one.

Once she developed her mark, she was placed in special schooling that educated her on soulmates and her purpose of being one. It was believed that in the earlier stages of human civilization, humans originally had four arms, four legs, and single head made of two faces. Blakely had nightmares of that imagine for weeks.

These _humans_ were believed to only have three genders: man, woman and the "Androgynous", each with two sets of genitalia with the Androgynous having both male and female genitalia. The men were children of the sun, the women were children of the earth and the Androgynous were children of the moon, which was born of the sun and earth.

It is said that humans had great strength at the time and threatened to conquer the gods. The gods were then faced with the prospect of destroying the humans with lightning as they had done with the Titans but then they would lose the tributes given to the gods by humans. Zeus developed a creative solution by splitting humans in half as punishment for humanity's pride and doubling the number of humans who would give tribute to the gods.

These split humans were in utter misery to the point where they would not eat and would perish so Apollo had sewn them up and reconstituted their bodies with the navel being the only remnant harkening back to their original form. Each human would then only have one set of genitalia and would forever long for his/her other half; the other half of his/her soul. It is said that when the two find each other, there is an unspoken understanding of one another, that they feel unified and would lie with each other in unity and would know no greater joy than that.

When she originally learned this, she thought it was a load of bullshit _but_ after seeing two Norse _gods_ in New York last year, the tale was becoming easier to believe.

A small frown graced Blakely's features at the thought of all the mumbo-jumbo she was forced to learn. Soulmates are believed to be mirrors of each other, reflecting back to other all the strengths, insecurities, weaknesses, and shadows that the other mate possesses. A soulmate reflects the disowned parts of yourselves; they are the yins to our yangs, the suns to our moons, and the light to our darkness.

To Blakely, this sounded like a lot of vulnerability and the thought of that caused her to shutter slightly. She hated being vulnerable, especially in front of men who wouldn't think twice about tearing you apart.

As you can tell she had a lot of trust issues.

Blakely felt herself react without a single idea of what she was going to say next, there goes her _lack _of filter. "_Well, I thought you would be taller so I guess we're all disappointed." _She snapped, noticing his assistant Pepper Pott's look at her with awe, the same look being given by the billionaire.

"_Blakely!_" Dean Beyer cried out, ready to chastise the girl that just insulted Tony Stark, the _ironman_.

_Well would you look at that_, Tony Stark mused, watching her turn red in embarrassment.

She pouted almost childishly. "He came for my craft!" She protested, her eyes connecting with his brown ones again, and this time she couldn't hold back her blush as his eyes literally devoured her whole.

_STUPID! _Blakely moaned miserably. His brown eyes were _so _brown, and they seemed so sharp as he stared at her, she was pretty sure with eyes like those he just got access to her inner thoughts. He was smirking at her knowingly, as he practically undressed her, his expression was literally saying 'you're mine' in big bold print.

The billionaire stepped forward, his hands raised defensily. "No Dean Beyer, I should apologize. Sometimes I forget that people have feelings." He said, his wording strangely familiar, she was sure she's said something amongst those lines before. His eyes flickered back over to hers. "Sorry to disappoint green eyes, according to wikipedia I'm 6'0, but I left my two inch pumps at home so–but you're way shorter than me, kinda like a fun size twizzler."

Her eye twitched again.

Tony pouted. "Do you accept my apology?" He asked, peering at her underneath his lashes innocently, but she knew his game, it was eerily like her own, but she still played.

She shrugged. "Apology denied. The fact that you compared me to a fun size twizzler _offends _me because I hate twizzlers."

His jaw dropped at her confession. "You _HATE _twizzlers? Why?! You have no soul!" But the smell of her breath was a familiar friend to Tony and a mischievous smirk was in place. "Is that my good pal _Jameson_ I smell?" He questioned quietly, for her ears. Everyone in the room watching the encounter like kids watch zoo animals interact.

Pepper bit back a smile as the words that Tony complained about almost everyday were finally said. She was glad to say she saw the whole thing and couldn't wait to tell Rhodey and Happy about Tony's fiery mate, who was also _twenty _years younger than him. People did say mates usually come to you when you need them the most.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the smug bastard. "Jameson and Don Julio actually." She snapped, trying to knock him off whatever peg he was on.

He pouted at her again before wagging a disapproving finger at her mockingly. "Naughty." He mouthed to her, causing her to break her frown in replacement for a smile.

Damn, how did he just do that?!

* * *

"_Congrats hon!"_

The sound of happy families congratulating their graduates was invaded her ears and she could feel the tight security surrounding her feelings beginning to break. As soon as the caps began to fall back down after being thrown up in the customary tradition, Blakely felt herself stand up and walk off, her soulmates gaze burning her as she walked off the stage.

After grabbing her things in the room she was previously in, she started making her way out and towards her uber whom was two minutes away. In her hand she tightly gripped her graduation gown, her outfit on display.

Since she knew there wouldn't be any pictures being taken on this fine day, Blakely chose to dress casually, since the plan was originally to go to Al's and blackout, the goal was to forget this dreaded day that made her miss her deceased kin just a little more. She wore a pair of light wash mom jeans that were cuffed at the end to give it a more chic vibe, a black tub top that showed off her midriff, and she paired it with a pair of sleek black heels. She looked hot.

Passing by a crying family, Blakely couldn't hide the horror showing on her face as she watched them cry, _in public._

"Oh my god." She whimpered, comically horrified by the action. Her pace quickened.

He swore that he literally just blinked and suddenly she was down the stairs and further away from him than he could ever hope to catch up to. For being such a small woman, she moved quick, he'll give her that, especially with those little death traps on her feet. Wow, his woman, so powerful.

Well she wasn't his woman _yet,_ he still had to win her over after his little brain fart caused her to acquired an attitude! But Tony was positive that she was just bluffing, he noticed the way she looked at him, and he knew that it wasn't in disgust, he could feel his ego preening at the attention his mate gave him.

Without a single thought, he followed her, more like attempted too but after losing her in the building he couldn't find her and he refused to let her leave just like that.

"Jarvis, activate Mark VI, we're taking him to college."

As she continued her trek down to the parking lot she felt herself slow to a stop as she heard something in the distance that was catching her attention.

_Don't ya love her madly? Don't ya need her badly? Don't ya love her ways? Tell me what you say? Don't ya love her madly? Wanna be her daddy? Don't ya love her face? Don't ya love her as she's walkin' out the door?_

"What the–" she turned around wildly, looking for the source of who was playing her favorite song. Blakely _loved _the doors and listened to them almost religiously.

A shadow was suddenly casted over her and she looked up, the song louder, closer, and clearer.

"_Oh my god._" She said in disbelief as she saw Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit, floating up in the air, the suits faceplate was up, showing his smirking face as he began to lower down to where she was, no doubt the stares he was getting was feeding his already big ego.

"Please! I am but a simple man!" He called out, his hands up as people began to talk excitedly in his direction, everything sounding like a loud blur to her. "Just ignore me, for once it isn't about me!" Tony hit the ground smoothly and suddenly his suit began to transform off his body...and into a briefcase?

She furrowed her eyebrows and blinked multiple times. Was she high? Or did that just happen?

"Impressed? Yeah I'd be too." Tony boasted, a proud grin on his face.

She let a huff of disbelief out at him before chuckling, nodding her head. "Okay, I'll bite, I give credit when its due."

An impish look over came his expression. "It won't be the only thing you'll be biting." He winked at her, and she couldn't hold back the laugh that left her.

"Not a shy bone in your body I see." She commented, a wide smile on her face, but the sound of cameras flashing caused it to waver. She looked around and saw that they were being watched.

He noticed the frown appear on her face and he looked around, noticing the crowd that he acquired. So maybe he shouldn't have shown up in the suit but it was the quickest way and most _efficient _way to track down his little mate.

"I've never been one for subtly." He explained, shrugging carelessly.

She snorted before glaring at the spectors who were taking pictures of them. "I can see that." She murmured, shifting around uncomfortable.

Noticing her restlessness, he sighed before reaching for his briefcase, his suit one again encasing him, save for his face. Blakely watched him curiously, a little bit of awe in her eyes.

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully before offering her his arm, which she stared at cautiously.

"Wanna get out of here?" He suggested.

Blakely frowned before looking at his suit up and down. "In that I'm going to assume?" She winced slightly.

"What? Scared?" He challenged, not hiding his smirk when he saw her glared at him.

"You wish." She snapped, stepping closer. "You just wanted an excuse to touch me." She threw in after, taking a couple more steps closing the gap between them.

Tony threw her a wolfish grin before wrapping his hands around her waist, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, _tightly_.

"You got me there, funsize." He flirted, before flying up, a laugh escaping him when she buried her head in his neck, trying to muffle her squeal but he heard her loud and clear.

* * *

After offering to pay for everyone's rounds for the night, everyone at Al's vowed to leave Blakely and Tony alone as they sat off in the corner of the bar, taking shots at an astounding rate.

Once the two literally flew away from Stanford, he landed them in an Audi dealership where he proceeded to buy a car so he could get them around, not a rent a car, but _buy _one. He even offered to buy her a car, or two, which she refused because she already had a car, he kept insisting until she threatened to walk home and leave.

He also wanted to take her to some five-star restaurant to celebrate but she wanted to go for something lowkey so they ended up at Al's bar, getting drunk. A woman after his own heart.

Tony received his soul mark when he was 21 the day of his parents death. He swore it was a sign that his mate would die before they met, or he would first. Then Afghanistan happened and he was so sure that this was the omen being fulfilled, he was going to die before he met his soulmate. But he didn't.

The sound of Blakely tapping her red painted nails brought his attention back to his mate. She gazed at him in amusement and curiosity, a funny smile on her face.

"You're gonna continue to ogle me or are you gonna say what's on your mind?' He remarked, a nonchalant look on his face.

"I was _not_ ogling you!" She scoffed defensively. "I was merely appreciating the sight before me." Tony laughed at her boldness, she managed to keep up with his wit, something a lot of people couldn't do because they tended to get offended pretty quick. "So love her madly? A coincidence that we both like that song, or did you stalk me you little weasel." She hissed, placing her elbows on the booth, the playful grin betraying her tone.

He shrugged innocently, nursing the cup of scotch that he had in his other hand. "I don't know what your talking about." He said avoiding her gaze. "I simply told Jarvis to play the first thing he saw," she cocked an eyebrow at his lie. "on your facebook." He finished sheepishly.

Blakely gave him a look of outrage. "Unbelievable!" she snapped, snatching his glass right out of his hand before taking it in one go. "You're so lucky I'm not mad, I'm actually sorta impressed." She shrugged carelessly, looking at him innocently as he let a noise of disapproval out, his eyes on his empty glass.

He snatched his glass and raised it in her direction, a mock disappointed look on his face. "Not cool, funsize." He chastised, wagging his finger in her direction.

"You were drinking it too slow!" She complained.

"Maybe your drinking everything too fast?!" He countered, he enjoyed watching her react, her face was very expressive in ways that gave up her next move.

"Can't keep up with me, grandpa?" She teased, her eyes bright as she challenged him.

Tony let a bark of laughter out. "Grandpa?!" He cried out, outraged. "Don't worry, honey. This body is up to speed and in tip top shape. Anything you can do, I can do better." He winked at her for the 100th time today.

She laughed. "_Okay_, Annie." She joked.

Tony leaned forward, invading her personal space but she didn't move nor care, watching him intently.

He lazily regarded her, his eyes just as glazed over as hers. He placed his arm on her thigh, running circles on it abstmindely, and she let him, the feeling was nice. "So I'm curious, where's my mark?" He asked cheekily, his eyes once again examining her body.

"I'll show you mines and you show me yours?" She offered, biting her lips playfully, nervously staring at the man that was meant for her forever. It was very overwhelming.

Tony grinned. "My kind of party!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands happily before pointing at her first. "So ladies first."

Laughing slightly, the alcohol in her caused her to throw away every instinct she had along with her common sense. putting a hand over her left boob to keep the shirt in place, she raised her tub top up, slapping tony's hand away as he attempted to bringing her shirt back down and she showed him his mark under her boob, the writing catching his attention and not the fact that his mate's breast could little pop out for a visit in front of all these random people.

He ran his fingers over the writing and Blakely flinched back with a giggle. He raised a question eyebrow and she pouted slightly. "That tickled!" She complained.

"So your ticklish?" He mused out loud, staring at her with a new glint in his eyes that made her shift uncomfortably.

She pointed at him threateningly. "Stop that, and stop looking at me like that!" She chastised, slapping the hand that kept raising up her thigh, getting dangerously close to her sides.

Tony stuck his tongue at her before pulling the sleeve of his shirt up, exposing his mark that was on the inside of his upper forearm. The words caught her attention and she moved closer to examine it.

She grin slightly at the words printed on his skin forever. "Nice." She commented, her hands lingering on his arm.

He watched her curiously, her green eyes taking in the mark on his skin with a look of pride almost.

"Got any plans tonight?" Tony asked suddenly, her eyes suddenly meeting his again.

She shrugged. "Depends." She threw in playfully, watching him underneath her lashes.

Tony leaned forward slightly. "Depends on what?" He threw in, a grin on his face.

"If there's food involved." She said, resting her chin on her palm as she watched him.

He stood up and offered her his hand. "Then let's go, funsize."

Blakely broke into a wide smile before accepting his hand, the two running off like lovesick teenagers.

* * *

xx


End file.
